– Radioactive cesium detected from Tochigi tea (NHK, July 08, 2011):
Radioactive cesium exceeding the government limit was detected in processed tea made in Tochigi City, about 160 kilometers from the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
The Tochigi Prefectural Government says 1,810 becquerels per kilogram of radioactive cesium was detected in tea processed from leaves harvested in the city in early July.
The level is more than 3 times the provisional government limit.
On Thursday, the prefecture requested that tea farmers in the city voluntarily stop shipments of their products.
Radioactive cesium has also been detected in other areas in the prefecture.
After the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, tea leaves and processed teas contaminated by radioactive substances have been found over wide areas near Tokyo. These include the prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa and the country’s largest tea production center, Shizuoka.